Gents - newbie here, tentatively looking at x308 XJRs

I viewed a 98 XJR today and have a few questions i'm hoping the collective can answer:

1) Car had one key/fob only - are replacements available from Jag or elsewhere
2) Car supposedly had an engine replacement by Jaguar at 79k miles (now on 180k) - i understand the date forms the new engine number (YYMMDD HHMM) , but couldn't find it anywhere - does anyone have a pic of where i should be looking. I read about a silver/green tag but could not see it.

Could Jaguar confirm the replacement via the VIN?

Even if it hasn't been replaced, as long as its not drinking oil, should i still be worried?

2.1) - Cold start was fine - no rattle from tensioners. The PO said they'd been replaced but there are no bills to substantiate - is there a way of checking?

3) I've read about rusty wheels arches, sills and wings (minor in this case) i'm more concerned about the strut mount rust. The driver side (RHD) was as new, but the passenger side had seen some repair work. Is this likely to be the iceberg or is the repair acceptable?



Many thanks

Shirish

 

 

Used fobs are on Ebay all day long, just be sure to get a matching model number (on the back), there are programming instructions on site.

For your other Q's, prompt the 2nd link in my sig after "how to fix it". There's a link to prompt on purchase "look for before you buy".

 

Just to chime in for a couple points - since there was no paperwork on the tensioners, I would imagine that the owner had an indy mechanic do it, or a "friend". My guess is they did the same with the engine, and I imagine that if it wasn't done at a Jaguar dealer, they would have zero information on the engine change. It goes for pretty much any repair - unless it was known to be done at a dealership, the only proof you'll have of any work done, are receipts. And even then, it never hurts to double check the parts you can by visually inspecting them. Obviously that's easier done with some things than others, but if you can verify they've been honest with some of them, chances are they're being honest about the rest.

 

The car being in the UK, 20 years old, and with mounts like that ... I should be very very careful.
Everything is repairable, but if the mounts are like that, I bet there are a whole lot of other places effected as well, salt is a killer on these cars.
Look for a recent thread from DAIM, he always thought his car was rust free ... until recently ...

 

As per EricJ, I would be very cautious of a 20 year old UK car with 180K miles showing signs of corrosion.

As for the key situation, as per HighHorse, fobs are easily obtained and easily programmed, replacement keys are another thing. Some members have found locksmiths that have successfully created duplicate keys, but my experience is that it is often not the case, and I have had no luck locally, and my only option seems to be a trip to the nearest Jaguar dealership, which is not only 165 miles away, but I believe the price is not cheap. I would not buy an X308 with less than 2 sets of keys.

As for the timing chain tensioners/guides/chains, removal of the valve covers can reveal if the secondary tensioners have been upgraded, but does not give an indication if the primary tensioners/chains have been updated. (and is not exactly a routine pre-purcahse inspection procedure). Genuine documentation would be the only real proof, and without it you would be looking at a $2,500-$3,000 expense.

Even 2003 model XJs are 15 years old, and can suffer from deteriorated rubber suspension/steering/driveline components. You need to be prepared to have some cash in reserve for possible "repairs".

The best overall advice is to avoid high mileage examples with little or no maintenance documentation, and money is most often best spent on the lowest mileage, most maintenance-documented example, over a "cheaper", high mileage example with little or suspect maintenance documentation.



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My 2 cents worth, though it's more like £2000 worth.

I was considering an XJR, though in the end my brother convinced me to get a Daimler Super V8. I got a 2000 model which was Nikasil but after the high sulphur fuel.

Drove very well, was at 111K miles. Anyway, turned out to have a blown head gasket which rapidly got worse. Took it to mechanics for fixing and he called to say compression was rubbish and I should replace the motor. Hence the £2000.

I did quite a bit of reading before I bought. Many people said avoid Nikasil without giving examples of failure in post 2000 cars and many people said Nikasil is a non-issue if the car was new after the fuel issue.

One bit of advice you've got, which is good, is ' The Nikasil lining is basically a non-issue if the car is working now and has good compression'.

Make sure you get a compression test. The mechanic said that the throttle bodies essentially allow fuel down into the cylinders at switch-off, and over 17 years and all sorts of fuel types the Nikasil liners just get corroded, from even just the low sulphur levels in fuel.

So my advice is that if it has good compression, get it. If you don't want to bother with a compression test then get one with a steel-linered engine.